For the first time in seemingly forever, the Rose Garden on Tuesday was once again a place of excitement, fun and, believe-it-or-not, a Trail Blazers' victory.

The Blazers might be down this early season, but they made a strong case that they are not out of it with an encouraging 106-99 victory over Phoenix that was earned even though star player Andre Miller was serving a suspension.

This was not your grind-it-out Blazers that struggled to score 80 points throughout its recent six-game losing streak.

Instead, this was a free-wheeling, entertaining brand of Blazers basketball, spearheaded by backup point guard Patty Mills, who not only pushed the pace, but also the envelope of conservative play that has come to define this team.

Mills finished with nine points, a career-high seven assists and a rousing ovation from a sellout of 20,151, which included his father, Benny, who is visiting from Australia.

"He's earning the right to play more minutes," coach Nate McMillan said of Mills.

Mills seemed to have a special oncourt connection with his closest friend on the team, Rudy Fernandez, finding him at the end of the first quarter on a no-look pass that Fernandez finished with a reverse layup while being fouled.

Fernandez, who has been mired in an early season slump, was the best he has been all season. He was full of energy on both offense and defense and finished with 11 points and three assists before fouling out in his 23rd minute.

For the first time in a month, the embattled McMillan used a different adjective that started with the letter f.

"It was fun," McMillan said. "That was good basketball tonight. I know we are capable of doing that.

Of course, the victory didn't come without some stress.

The Blazers (10-11) led by as many as 12 in the first half, but Phoenix came back to lead in the third quarter, thanks to yet another epic case of being on the wrong end of a scoring run -- this one a 16-2 streak by the Suns (11-10).

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Suns had taken a 75-69 lead, and given the Blazers' inability to score, particularly late in games, this one seemed headed toward another demoralizing loss.

But Wesley Matthews, who is quickly becoming the team's best offensive weapon, started attacking, Nicolas Batum started hitting shots (3 of 3 in the fourth) and LaMarcus Aldridge hit all eight of his free throws, keying a 37-point fourth quarter.

"We wanted to show we could be on the other end," Matthews said of the fourth-quarter turnaround.

It was the second time the Blazers have come back in the fourth quarter this season to beat the Suns. On opening night, the Blazers outscored Phoenix 31-11.

Matthews led the Blazers with 24 points -- the fifth time in the past six games he has led the team in -- and Brandon Roy added 20. Although Roy closed the game hitting only two of his last 10 shots, he showed flashes of his old self early with several crafty drives and strong finishes.

Notes: The Blazers made 32 of 33 free throws, including all 17 attempts in the fourth quarter ... Center Joel Przybilla will miss at least Friday's game at Phoenix to attend the funeral of his wife's grandmother in Milwaukee. ... Phoenix guard Jason Richardson was held to six points on 3-of-8 shooting, ending a string of seven games of scoring 20 or more points. In last season's playoffs against Portland, Richardson averaged 23.5 points, and in the first meeting this season he had 22. ... Phoenix, which is ranked fourth in the NBA with an average of 17 fast-break points, finished with two. McMillan said the Blazers coaching staff felt that was an error.